Especially in the beverage industry, a pack sequence is often formed from different packs that are order-picked in a customer-specific way to form a group of packs, particularly a target pallet. A sequence forming element is often provided for this purpose, the sequence forming element taking packs from upstream buffer places and combining said packs to obtain the customer-specific pack sequence.
The target pallet may be a pallet mixed from a plurality of different packs, particularly according to specifications given in customer orders. The mixed pallet, however, may also represent preparatory work, forming the basis for a further order-picking stage. The customer-specific pallet or target pallet may be a group consisting of one or several different packs, particularly a mixed pallet, particularly according to specifications given in one or several customer orders or according to specifications given in one or several orders for supporting further internal as well as external business processes, e.g. distributing, mounting, repacking, customizing, order-picking, etc.
The buffer places are normally occupied via a pack storing device loaded with packs of particularly homogeneous groups of packs, particularly production pallets. Such a pack storing device normally comprises a plurality of planes, each of the planes comprising a plurality of storage lanes. The storage lanes are homogeneously loaded most of the time, i.e., each storage lane comprises packs of only one beverage article. Partial sequences are normally combined on a conveyor for each plane of the pack storing device and provided at buffer places before the sequence forming element.
It is also possible that different articles are stored in a pack storing device. This is e.g. the case whenever in a preceding business process e.g. of a manual order-picking stage mixed sequences have been formed.
Since the pack sequences in an order-picking line may turn out to be very different, a great number of buffer places are needed for ensuring that a needed pack is available in good time for introduction into the sequence forming element. Pack sequences can particularly greatly differ in the order of the packs and also in the physical properties of the packs. When pack sequences are formed, there may be very high throughputs that may subsequently require a great number of buffer places before the sequence forming devices, especially when the times needed for the provision from the sources, the pack storing devices, up to the sequence forming device, are longer than the necessary reaction time predetermined by the performance requirements of the sinks, i.e. the sequence forming devices.
This calls for a lot of space and for a corresponding dimensioning of the order-picking line.